Ex-officer gets 2 months in animal cruelty case

Animal rights advocate calls sentence 'a slap on the wrist.'

Animal rights advocate calls sentence 'a slap on the wrist.'

January 10, 2008|PABLO ROS Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- A St. Joseph County judge on Wednesday sentenced a former police officer to two months in prison for animal cruelty in a 2005 case that attracted national attention. The judge, John M. Marnocha, said the case was unusual because of the public outcry that resulted from it. He said that "the kind of public input" he received in this case was comparable to that of Cpl. Scott Severns, a South Bend police officer who was shot to death in 2006. While he said he didn't know why a case of animal cruelty might cause greater uproar in the public than one of murder or child molestation, the judge said, "This one seems to have struck a chord." Curt Seufert, 34, who left the St. Joseph County police force after he was charged in the case, wore a black suit with a dark blue tie on Wednesday before he was led away in handcuffs from Marnocha's courtroom. Seufert pleaded guilty in November to killing his former girlfriend's Akita after an argument over part-time jobs. According to an investigation, the Akita, named Lexi, died of internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen, an injury that in itself was likely unintended, the report said. The dog also suffered one or two other injuries that were likely caused in a short period of time, the report concluded. "As a result of the conduct of the Defendant in this case, the animal in question died," the report reads. "The evidence in this case does not support the conclusion that the Defendant intended to kill the animal." The case attracted national attention when it happened, including a letter to local law enforcement from the late comedian Richard Pryor. His wife, Jennifer Lee Pryor, heads Pryor's Planet, a nonprofit organization devoted to protecting animals' lives. On Wednesday, Mrs. Pryor said by telephone that she felt Marnocha's sentence to be a "slap on the wrist." "I'm outraged and distressed that this sort of horrible brutality is basically met with a slap on the wrist," she said. Seufert's former girlfriend, Jennifer Radican, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. The judge also placed Seufert on probation for one year and ordered him to pay $127.50 in restitution to Radican. Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6357